Part-Time Kid
by Animeisheaven
Summary: "It's not my fault people just assume my age." "You are evil, Izumi." "I know."
1. Chapter 1

"Hey! That's my candy, afro-head!" a female voice was heard screeching. A small boy in a cow suit ran past a gawking brunet, followed by a small blonde girl wearing a blue dress. She was running bare-foot, a huge broomstick in her hand. "Come back here, stupid cow!"

"Nya-ha-ha-ha!" the boy yelled. "It's Lambo's now!"

"You stole it! That's mean and wrong and rude! Give it back and apologize!"

Behind them, another small girl ran behind them, shrieking, "Lambo! Give Izumi candy back!"

"Lambo! Don't take other children's candy!" the once-gawking brunet scolded, running after them.

"Dame-Tsuna, you sound like a mother," he heard a snide voice comment from behind him.

"Reborn! Stop talking and help me!" the one called 'Tsuna', shouted angrily at him, halting. He received a whack to the head with a green hammer and the one labelled 'Reborn', a baby with black hair in a suit and a fedora, spoke, "Learn some manners, Dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna sighed tiredly, before starting to run again. He would never get a break from all this, would he?

Now, back to the little quarrel and chase with the two girls and Lambo. The girl in the blue dress had soon thrown away the broomstick, and had tackled Lambo to the ground. She bonked him on the head, before snatching away her candy and shoving it all in her mouth.

Lambo immediately began wailing, and the blonde took a few steps back, before bowing at the other girl thankfully, "Thank you, I-Pin-san!"

"I-Pin welcome!"

"Hey, would you like to play sometime?" Izumi asked cheerfully, a smile on her face.

"Yes!"

"I-Pin!" Tsuna came running up to them. "Don't run off like that!" He turned to Lambo, who was still wailing. "And Lambo! Don't take other's candy! We have candy for you. And you eat too much anyway…" the last part was said in a mumble, but Izumi caught it and burst out laughing, pointing her index finger at Lambo. She said something which couldn't be deciphered by neither Tsuna nor I-Pin.

"You're right about that," Reborn piped in, agreeing with her statement.

She stared at him, deep blue eyes going wide with curiosity, "Who're you?"

"Ciaossu, I'm Reborn, the world's greatest hitman," he replied.

Her eyes sparkled, "Really?"

"Yeah."

"That's so cool!" she bounced up and down, hands clasped together. "Do you have a gun or something?"

Reborn's eyes flashed, "Yes."

"Ooh, can I see it?"

"Shouldn't you be going now? Your parents must be worried," he stated. "It's already five thirty pm. Isn't it a bit late to be wandering around?"

It might have been a trick of the eye, but Reborn was certain her eyes had narrowed for a second, darkness swirling in them, a huge change from the innocence in them.

She immediately replied, "Yeah, you're right. Thanks for reminding me, Reborn-san!"

"Wait…your name," Reborn spoke.

"Izumi, Akane Izumi!" she answered as she skipped off in the other direction, her hair and dress swaying. Reborn stared after her, making a mental note to search her background. He wracked his brain for the name 'Izumi Akane', to see if he had anything to do with her once or whether he'd heard of her name.

He hadn't.

* * *

Izumi hopped off the stool, and took out a sleeveless dress. She put it on, and then put on a dark blue Alice band. She slipped on some blue flats, and skipped out of the bathroom, humming a tune.

She went downstairs, greeting her brother and informing him she'll be going out. He just hummed, not saying anything, before going back to whatever he was doing. Not like he could speak.

She quickly reached the park and, seeing I-Pin and Lambo, she ran over to them, "Hi!"

"Izumi!" I-Pin smiled at her.

"Mean-Blondie!" Lambo scowled, turning his head away.

"Well, you're a mean afro-head!" she hissed at him, turning her head away too.

"Lambo-kun, I-Pin-chan, there you are!" a brown-haired lady with kind eyes walked over to them, handing each of them a bar of chocolate. "Here's your chocolate – ah! What's your name?" she asked Izumi.

Izumi grinned up at her, "Hi! I'm Izumi, Akane Izumi! You can call me Izumi. I'm Lambo and I-Pin's friend!"

"No, she's not!" Lambo yelled angrily, pouting. "She's a meanie! She took Lambo's candy!"

"Sorry, Lambo," she looked apologetic. She dug out something wrapped in a plastic wrapper and handed it to him, "Here's some grape candy to make up for it."

Lambo snickered, before snatching it away and tucking it into his mane of hair, "It's Lambo's candy now!"

Her eyebrow twitched, "I know, I just gave it to you."

"Ah, you children get along so well," the brunette smiled happily at them. "I'm Sawada Nana!"

"Nana-san, it's nice to meet you!" Izumi smiled at her.

"I-Pin go! I-Pin tomorrow play!" I-Pin said to her, waving. Izumi pouted, but then it turned into a cheery grin, "Okay! I'll see you tomorrow, I-Pin, Lambo!"

"Lambo's not going! Lambo's still staying!" Lambo yelled.

"Lambo, I'll come tomorrow," Izumi smiled at him reassuringly.

"Nye-heh-heh! Lambo fooled you!" he snickered, before running away. Nana called after him worriedly, "Lambo-kun, be careful! Come back soon!"

"Bye!" Izumi waved at I-Pin, who sent a small smile her way before departing with Nana. The blonde sighed, before huffing, "I only got there and they went so fast…what a waste of time and clothes." She started walking the way back home, shoulders slumped dejectedly.

* * *

"Oh, my God, Izumi! Did you see that cute guy?" the blonde heard her friend say.

"No," she shook her head, a smirk on her glossed lips. "So…how did he look like, Yuki?"

"He had like, this really cool bad boy image! He'd had silver hair – that is _so_ cool – and piercing eyes! And oh, his build…I can already tell he's fit even when he's wearing his uniform!" Yuki gushed, eyes set in hearts.

Izumi groaned inwardly. When Yuki got like this, there was no stopping her – she became a complete fangirl. She hoped that this guy didn't show up a lot…she wasn't ready to take Yuki's fangirling again. She already had enough with Yuki's real crush and her celebrity crushes.

"Uh, Yuki? Shouldn't you be finishing your Math homework? Aoki-sensei might scold you…" she trailed off, noticing Yuki's scowl. "…or not. Fine, I'll do it."

"Listen to me, Izumi!"

"I am -!"

"Izumi! Don't interrupt me! I just said listen! Okay, so I –"

Izumi sighed exasperatedly, before snatching Yuki's Math book and writing down the answers to her homework, at the same time _trying_ to listen to the other girl's endless chatter. Okay, she wasn't – she was acting like she was listening. Whatever, Yuki still fell for it.

* * *

"What do you think we should play, I-Pin, Lambo?" Izumi asked the three kids, grinning.

"Hide and seek!" Lambo replied.

"I-Pin want play catch!" I-Pin answered.

Lambo and I-Pin turned and glared at each other, lightening crackling from one eye to the other. "Hide and seek/catch!"

Izumi sweat-dropped, "Now, now, we can play both! We can play hide and seek first, and then catch, okay?"

Both turned to her, smiling happily, "Okay!"

"Okay, then, who's the one that's gonna find the others?"

"Not me!" the both of them yelled, before scurrying off in different directions.

"Count until twenty!" Lambo added, before disappearing into a group of trees. The blonde grumbled, with a voice unlike her usual childish one (it was more mature), "I expected that…cheeky little brats." Then, she added, sweat-dropping, "And they forgot that I could see them…aw, how sweet."

She covered her eyes, and started to count until twenty. As she reached the end, she started walking around, trying to find each of them. She walked into the trees, where she'd seen Fuuta hide.

"Oh, I-Pin, Lambo~ where are you?" she said playfully, lips twisted into a smirk. This was so easy. She could see Lambo's tail hanging out slightly from a tree. I-Pin's red robe was seen through a bush at her side.

Her short frame slid over to the tree where Lambo was hiding. She hopped up, clutching hold of a tree branch, and she pulled Lambo's cow suit tail. Lambo let out a yelp, shocked, and came tumbling out of the tree and landed on the ground.

He sniffled, "Hold…it…in…!" but started wailing soon after that. Izumi snorted, before letting go of the tree branch and landing on her feet.

She skipped off to I-Pin's hiding place, tugging slightly on the red fabric that was revealed. The girl in hiding let out a squeak, before coming out sheepishly.

I-Pin and Izumi stared at Lambo, who was still on the ground, crying.

"Should we…comfort him?" Izumi asked the other girl, who just shrugged.

"Lambo steal I-Pin food when home!" I-Pin said.

Izumi sighed, before saying, "I feel type of guilty…" She shoved her hand in her skirt pocket, before taking out a handful of candy. She picked out the grape ones, and threw them at Lambo, who immediately caught them and ate them, thankfully becoming silent. She passed the strawberry ones to I-Pin who took the candy, thanking Izumi. She popped the rest into her mouth, eyes closing from the sheer deliciousness of it.

"Well, bye, guys!" she smiled, waving at them. "I have to go, it's almost six! Won't Sawada-san get worried?"

As Izumi saw the last of their figures disappear, she sighed with relief, "Oh, God…I was close to transforming back…"

Saying this, her small little kid figure morphed into a taller girl with short and straight blonde hair. Her eyes were blue, and she looked more mature, though there was a slight mischievous glint in it. The clothes that the kid was wearing, had largened and were fitting the taller girl. The girl was wearing pink lip gloss, and her nails were slightly longer.

"I wonder if they'll think the same of me if they knew how old I really was?" she whispered, before starting to walk through the park, leaving through the gate. Then, she halted, before laughing out loud, "They forgot to play catch."

* * *

"Shit! I'm so late!" Izumi cried, seeing the time on her alarm clock. She'd just had a nice, hot, shower…only to find she'd taken too much time and now she was late.

She slipped on her uniform, smoothing her hair down. She'd comb it later. She stuffed her make-up pouch in her bag, and ran downstairs, her feet making heavy sounds on the floor. She gobbled up her breakfast, glaring at her brother who was smirking at her being late.

She bid him goodbye, and rushed out the door, skirt flying. She kept running, never once stopping, because she was so, so, late. And Hibari Kyoya would certainly 'bite her to death'. She really didn't want that…his tonfas hit hard. She bumped into a few people, muttering apologies. However, one person clutched her collar, but she just shoved him out of the way and started running again.

Finally, she made it to school with only five minutes to spare. She rushed inside school, dodging everyone on her way to class. She rushed inside her class, panting. Yuki immediately spotted her, and bounced over to her, "Girl, you are so late!"

"I know," Izumi sighed, sweat dropping. She sat down on her seat and started to smooth her hair down, trying to make it into her usual hairstyle. "I stayed too long in the bath…"

"Ooh~ was it nice and hot?" Yuki smirked.

"Yeah…"

"Akane and Hoshino are so weird," a girl whispered to her friend. "They talk about such weird stuff, right?"

"Hoshino thinks she's all that," her friend muttered back to her, rolling her eyes. "And Akane is just…I don't know, irritating?"

Yuki rolled her eyes, before leaning towards Izumi, who was looking down, hurt evident in her eyes, "You know what? Some people should just shut up and stop gossiping. They really sound like old ladies."

The girls who were talking about them gasped in anger, and resumed gossiping about them. "Yeah, I know what you mean! They are so weird!"

Izumi snickered, her hurt replaced by amusement, "Yuki, you are totally right about that. They should just shut their trap, shouldn't they?"

Yuki grinned back at her, "Yup, they should."

* * *

After school was over, she'd immediately gone home. Her brother was waiting for her at home, notepad in hand and something written on it.

 _I've got new pills for you._

She brightened up, "Really? Thank you so much, nii-san!"

Her brother smiled at her, scribbling something. _In fact, you only need to have one of them and it'll last you for a year. It turns you into a kid if you splash cold water on yourself, and normal form with hot water._

Her mouth turned into an 'O', "That is so cool! Thanks! You're the best, Takeru!"

The blond smiled at her, before handing her a box. She kicked off her shoes and rushed into her room, feet making a 'thud' sound on the floor. She threw open the door of her room, and slammed it shut. She immediately ate one of them, and splashed cold water from the sink onto herself. She immediately turned into a kid.

She grinned happily, hopping onto the stool and looking in the mirror, "I look so cute~!"

* * *

"Oh, no! I'm late!" the girl shrieked, running quickly. She soon halted, her eyes going wide as she saw the phenomenon in front of her. There was a young boy, about the age of nine or ten, whose scarf was floating in the air, along with a few leaves. His eyes had a dazed look in them. The girl felt for any wind, only to find there was none.

"Tsuna-nii's dash abilities: rank 86,202 out of 86,202," he muttered. "Strength of legs: rank 85,900. Endurance rank: 86,182. Meaning Tsuna-nii's running rank is one of the lowest."

Izumi winced. If whatever the boy was saying was true, then the truth must hurt for Tsuna. Wait…Tsuna…there was that spiky-haired guy who was with Lambo and I-Pin. Was this boy talking about him? She didn't really know…and how was he able to do that floating thing?

Well, she couldn't really say that was impossible, or just her imagination…because, she ate pills that turned her into a kid. That was type of impossible…

The same spiky-haired guy she knew that was called Tsuna ran past the floaty boy, yelling stuff about being late. Suddenly, she was reminded…she was late! So late!

She whispered a curse out loud, and started to bolt towards Namimori Middle, when a loud cry made her stop yet again.

"There he is!"

A group of men in suits began to chase the floaty boy. Izumi panicked. She really felt sorry for the little guy…so she helped him. She didn't know why she did it, she was late and she still did it.

"Um! Little boy!" she yelled after him. He turned to her, "Yeah?"

"Uh…you can hide in that doghouse in this house! The chihuahua is harmless!"

"Thank you!" he smiled sweetly at her, before climbing over the gate and into the doghouse. The chihuahua went up to him, sniffed him, and went away.

Izumi face-palmed, remembering she was late. She cursed, before starting to run to Namimori Middle, the floaty boy forgotten.

* * *

After school, it rained…and there were strange happenings. Bomb blasts everywhere, suited men chasing uniformed boys carrying a blanket.

"This is so weird," Izumi muttered in her child form. She sat on the swings, staring at the battle that was taking place.

Tsuna had come in, carrying the floaty boy on his back. "Hey! Fuuta, wake up!" he muttered to the boy on his back. "With you on my back, they'll catch up."

A man in a suit came into the park, "Hey, kid." Two men in suits came up behind him. "You've been troublesome."

"We're done playing tag."

Tsuna glanced around nervously, his grip on Fuuta tightening slightly.

"Give us that kid," one of the men ordered.

Tsuna clenched his teeth, backing away slightly. The boy on his back woke up, "Huh? Tsuna-nii?" Izumi stared incredulously at the scene playing out before her eyes. This seemed like some movie or something…

"Fuuta," Tsuna murmured.

Fuuta gasped, "The people that were after me…"

"Come with us peacefully," another of the men said. "We won't hurt you."

Fuuta then said some rankings, leading to a fight between all three. Izumi winced when she saw that their rankings were the truth all along, "That has got to hurt…"

Suddenly, a flame lit up on his forehead, and his clothes were ripped off, "Re-born! I will protect Fuuta with my dying will!"

Izumi gaped, staring blankly, "…did…he just…what the fuck…did he just…flash me?!"

He started beating the men up, and after five minutes the flames died down and he was back to normal. Izumi couldn't help but freak out, "What…just…happened?!"

"HIEEE!" Tsuna yelled. "That's Lambo and I-Pin's friend! Wait – you saw?!"

"You flashed me!" she shrieked.

"You're not supposed to know that word, you're five!"

She froze, "…shit."

"You're not supposed to know that word either!"

"…fuck."

"HIEEE! Not that word too!"

"I don't care! You're the freaky one here! That flame – you flashed me – you beat them up!"

"You aren't supposed to know or say those words!"

Then, it started raining. Izumi's hair drooped down, covering her eyes. She groaned, "It had to rain. It just had to rain."

Tsuna 'hieee'd and carried Fuuta on his back, starting to run. Izumi watched after him, her eyes shining with curiosity. What she'd seen, was like something from an anime…it seemed so unreal. And what was so special about Fuuta? And Tsuna? Who were those black-suited guys? And what was that…flame on his forehead? How did his clothes suddenly rip off?

Ugh…this was so confusing. Maybe she'd ask Takeru about it? He always had answers to her every question.

* * *

When she went home and after a long and hot shower, she asked Takeru about it and described the events that had transcribed during her time at the park. It was dinner, and he was eating some rice, and immediately choked, hacking and coughing. She went to him, patting his back and handing him a glass of water. He gulped it up, and then snatched a notepad from the living room, before scribbling something on it.

 _Who was this boy that spiky-haired one was carrying?_

"I think his name was Fuuta…that's what that guy Tsuna was saying?"

His eyes widened, and he wrote something again. _Tsuna? The spiky-haired one was called Tsuna? Tsunayoshi Sawada?_

Her eyebrows knitted, "I'm not sure, but when I first saw Tsuna, he was with a baby wearing a fedora – "

Her brother choked again, coughing. She handed him another glass of water, he drank it, staring at her thankfully. He motioned for her to continue, and she did.

" – who said he was a hitman. I thought he was joking, and I asked him where his gun was. He said he left it at home, and then he told me to go home, saying that my parents would be worried. I went home. But…I could feel him staring at me as I went home. Oh, and I heard him calling Tsuna 'Dame-Tsuna'."

Takeru's eyebrows furrowed, and he noted down something again. _Whenever you meet with these people, please tell me what happens with them after you come back, okay?_

Her eyes narrowed curiously, "Why?"

Takeru just smirked mysteriously, and wrote something else. _I'll make your favourite food everyday you tell me what happens._

She smiled excitedly, her curiosity dispelling, "Okay! Noodle soup for tomorrow, then!"

He nodded at her, his smirk turning into an affectionate smile. She continued eating her food, not aware of the mysterious grin plastered on his face. She also wasn't aware that she hadn't even gotten the answer to her question: what was up with the flame on Tsuna's head?

* * *

 **Just a new plot idea…tell me what you think of it! What do you think of Izumi? Yuki? Takeru? Is Izumi too Mary-Sue-ish? Please give me feedback!**

 **~ Animeisheaven**


	2. Chapter 2

The blonde sighed, half-listening to the teacher's lecture in the background. She knew she had to pay attention, but History was _so_ boring. It made her want to take a nap. And she didn't sit at the back of the class, or near the window, so she could take a nap. She sat right in the front. All because of her stupid eyesight problem. She should really get glasses…

"Psst…Izumi!" she heard Yuki whisper, and a paper ball hit the back of her head. Her eyes flew to Yuki, who was seated a few seats away to her left. Yuki motioned for her to open it, and Izumi picked up the paper ball, and opened it silently.

 _Wanna skip this class?_

Izumi's lips twitched upwards. Yuki hated History. She found History as boring as Izumi did. She glanced at Yuki from the corner of her eye, and she shook her head. They'd receive an earful from the Disciplinary Committee. Yuki scowled, and her fists clenched. She threw her head to the side, and Izumi sighed, annoyed.

Didn't Yuki understand? The Disciplinary Committee would scold them. While Izumi was irritated with them for being so strict, she had to admit, they were good at what they did. They kept everyone in check. And, as much as she feared Hibari Kyoya, she respected him too. He was strong, and he was the head of the Disciplinary Committee. But, at the same time, he was a jerk, and she wasn't sure what aspects of his personality attracted Yuki to him. Sure, he was good-looking, but there were other good-looking people like – ahem, back to the topic. The Disciplinary Committee would scold them.

Soon, the bell rang, and everyone was out of the door immediately, no doubt to go for lunch. Yuki stood up, and slammed her hands on Izumi's table, "Izumi! Why?!"

"The Disciplinary Committee will scold us, Yuki," she replied.

"I know that! If the person who scolds us is Hibari-san?!" Yuki questioned, a blush on her cheeks. "I would get to talk to him~! Kya!"

Izumi stared incredulously at her, before sighing, "I will never understand you, Yuki."

The brunette ignored her last comment and continued gushing on and on about Hibari. Izumi sighed, face-palming. "I lost her," she muttered, sweat-dropping.

She stood up and took Yuki's hand. She also took their bentos and dragged her to their usual place to eat lunch. Once they got there, she placed Yuki's bento on the Yuki's lap and started eating her own lunch.

Yuki absent-mindedly opened it, and didn't start eating her lunch, talking instead. Finally, Izumi got impatient, "Yuki! Shut up and eat your lunch! We don't want food to go to waste!"

The other girl shivered, and shoved some of her food into her mouth, scared, saying, "Weff, wam!" (yes, ma'am) (her voice was muffled)

"Good," Izumi huffed, and resumed eating her food. Once they were done, there was still about ten minutes left for lunch to get over.

"Did you know that many people are disappearing one by one?" Yuki questioned.

Izumi's eyes sparkled with curiosity, "Really? Tell me more."

"Okay, so these people always end up injured and they have these pocket watches on their chests when they come back."

"Wow, interesting," Izumi stated, smirking.

"I know, right? And you know what else?"

"What?"

"The targets are always people from Namimori Middle."

Izumi's eyes widened, "Whoa, really?" She was really interested now. It had caught her eye. Yuki smirked, "Yup. Wanna solve the mystery with me?"

Izumi was about to say yes, when a thought occurred to her. Her eyes narrowed, and she stared at Yuki suspiciously, "Where did you get this info?"

Yuki flushed, and looked to the side nervously, "Oh, one of my friends…"

"And who is this 'friend' of yours?"

The brunette looked down, eyes watching anything but Izumi. "Uh…"

"Yuki…you eavesdropped, didn't you?"

"Yes," Yuki blushed.

"Yuki, you have to stop eavesdropping. It's a bit…it's an invasion of privacy!"

"But – I was curious!"

"Curiosity kills the cat! Besides, where'd you hear it from?"

"The Disciplinary Committee, of course."

"Yuki! What the hell were you – wait, I don't even want to know what you were doing there. You wanted to spy on Hibari-san, right?"

Yuki turned red, "Yeah…"

"What if he noticed you, Yuki? You must be more careful! What do you find so appealing about him, anyway?"

She was about to answer, when the bell rang. Both stood up, and hurried to class, the question forgotten and replaced by thoughts of getting to class quickly.

* * *

"People at my school are disappearing, and they always come back injured greatly with a pocket watch on them," she told her brother.

He choked on the miso soup he was drinking, and she quickly handed him a glass of water, "Here." He gulped it down, and he motioned for her to continue, this time listening more attentively.

"Yuki wants to solve the mystery," she continued. Takeru's eyes widened in alarm, and he shook his head vigorously. He pushed his bowl of miso soup to the side, and stood up, looking for his notepad. He brought it and scribbled something on it.

 _Do not investigate. It is dangerous. Very, very dangerous._

She narrowed her eyes, "How do you know this?"

Takeru sighed and wrote something on the notepad again. _You said that people ended up injured, didn't you? So, you might get hurt. Please, don't investigate._

"Oh, okay, I understand."

He flashed her a 'thumbs-up', with an approving smile. She continued eating her dinner, making commentary every now and then. After they finished, she quickly cleaned her plate, and went upstairs to do her homework.

She changed into her nightclothes and brushed her teeth. She went to bed, unaware of the short figure with shiny black eyes watching her every move.

* * *

Reborn wasn't very surprised to find that Izumi was older than she looked. He himself, was older than he looked.

His first clue had been that darkness in her eyes. His other clue, was her usage of curse words. He'd heard every word of the conversation that happened between Tsuna and Izumi. It didn't take long for him to piece those two clues together. But, he had to make sure, so he followed her to her house.

When she spilt hot water on herself, she'd transferred into a middle school girl – in fact, a girl he'd seen at Namimori Middle a few times. She was a second year, who always hung out with a girl called Hoshino Yuki. Both were disliked quite a lot by some of the girls, but they seemed to handle it well.

He also found out she had a mute brother called Takeru, who seemed to be aware of the mafia. Reborn didn't know who Takeru was. He didn't what role Takeru played, whether he was part of a family, whether he was an assassin or a hitman or whether he was an informant. He only knew that Takeru was a cook at a restaurant, he was mute, he was a young man of 21 years, and he didn't have a girlfriend but had a crush on someone. He also knew his birthday, and their background. And he didn't know where the knowing mafia part fit into it. It didn't.

And Reborn didn't like not knowing things. He liked to be aware of everything. Most of his free time was spent thinking about Takeru and Izumi – who they really were. There was also the issue about the missing Namimori students. So much work, so much to think of…

* * *

"I heard Hoshino's in the hospital! That gang that's been targeting Namimori Middle's students got her!"

Izumi didn't hear the last part of the sentence, because she was out of school the moment she heard the words Hoshino and hospital. She entered the local hospital and asked for Yuki. They gave her the directions, and she speed-walked to the given room. She opened the door, and entered in, seeing Yuki there, reading a book.

"Yuki!"

"Oh – Izumi, hey!" she smiled at her.

"What happened?" Izumi asked, eyes filled with worry.

"Some people beat me up. I sprained both of my legs, broke a rib, and got a few cuts and bruises here and there."

"What?!" Izumi gasped.

"It's no biggie, I'll be up and about in a few days."

"Are you sure? Do you think it's from – ?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. We'll have to abort the mission, since it's dangerous like you said!"

"So, you haven't seen the chairman?" they heard a voice like Kusakabe Tetsuya's voice.

"I'm certain he's found a clue about the enemy, so it's only a matter of time before the culprits are destroyed," another voice replied to him.

"I see."

"Izumi, we are going to find the culprit!" Yuki declared suddenly, a determined look on her face. She was blushing, "I'm going to help my Hibari-san find the culprit! Kya~!"

Izumi sweat-dropped. So that's why she said that…to help Hibari or get attention from him. Wow, if Hibari was added into the mix Yuki would do anything and everything.

"But you're hurt!" Izumi protested, suddenly reminded of where they were.

"It's no biggie, I'll be up and about in an hour!"

"In an hour? But you said in a few days – !"

"Now, now, Izumi! Shoo! Don't disturb me! I'll recover! I'll see you when I'm done recovering!"

The blonde sighed, before walking out of the room. She was crazy. There was no way Yuki could heal in such a short amount of time…

When she went outside, she immediately spotted Tsuna and that baby, Reborn. There was a green wiggling thing on the floor, and there was a lizard (chameleon?) on his hat.

"What's that?!" Tsuna cried out.

"Leon's tail was cut," Reborn stated as he bent down to pick the green thing up.

"Do chameleons lose their tails?" the spiky-haired boy questioned incredulously.

"This occurrence is…" the baby smirked. "Ominous."

Saying this, he turned to look at her with a knowing smirk. Her eyes widened. Did he know? Did he know that she was the kid that spent time with Lambo and I-Pin? He knew…would he tell them? What would Lambo and I-Pin say? What if he told Yuki? What would Yuki think?

"Move out of the way! Another Namimori student was attacked!" someone said as two nurses brought a stroller with Kusakabe Tetsuya lying on it, injured.

Her eyes widened, all thoughts of Reborn knowing her secret gone. Did that mean…Hibari was defeated? That couldn't be. He was the strongest person in Namimori…how did he get defeated so quickly?

Reborn jumped over to Kusakabe and took out a gold pocket watch from the injured person. He opened it, before staring at Tsuna.

Tsuna went over to him, holding a green bucket (green bucket? Where'd he get that from?). "Hey, what are you doing?"

"There's no mistake," Reborn muttered. "They're trying to pick a fight with you."

Izumi's eyes widened. Why would they want to pick a fight with Tsuna? Was he some important person? He seemed just like a wimp…or was it an act? An act to keep people away? Ugh, this was so confusing…

Then she heard the words 'mafia' and 'omertà', she connected the dots. Tsuna was in the mafia? That meant…Lambo and I-Pin were too. And Fuuta. And Nana, his mom (but she was so innocent)! Reborn – then he wasn't joking when he said that he was a hitman?

That meant…Yuki was going after someone from the mafia? That would be dangerous, really dangerous!

She gulped, before going over to a vending machine and buying a drink. She opened the can and chugged the drink down. She crushed the can and threw it inside the dustbin.

She sat down on one of the seats there and massaged her forehead while thinking about what she would say to Takeru. He did want her to say everything that happened with Tsuna's gang to him. Why, though?

She departed the hospital, planning to go home only after she thought about what to say to Takeru. And besides, school was still going on…he'd whack her if she came back home early – oh, and he wasn't even at home, he was at his job.

"I challenge you, Gokudera Hayato," she heard a voice.

"Isn't that the one Yuki gushes about?" she murmured under her breath. "Let me go check it out…" she ran off in the direction of the voice.

What did the mystery guy challenge him to? A cooking contest? She had to check it out…she was dying of curiosity. Besides, if they wanted a private challenge they wouldn't be that stupid to do it out in the open, would they?

She reached the place of the voice and saw a guy with glasses and a silver-haired guy. She assumed the silver-haired guy to be Gokudera, since Yuki described him as 'a bad-boy with silver hair' and plus, he was wearing their school's uniform.

The other guy in the green uniform looked at her, and his glasses glinted. He threw something at her, and thinking it was poison, ducked.

"Hey! If you wanted it to be private, you could at least try to have your challenge somewhere else!" she shrieked angrily at him. "People _will_ get curious!"

Gokudera glared at him, "Your opponent is here!" He threw dynamite at the glasses guy and he dodged them, starting to run. Gokudera went after him, starting to throw dynamite again. The dynamite left behind started to explode, which left Izumi no other choice but to follow after them.

Yes, she knew there'd be more danger if she went after them. However, the dynamite that was blasting had blocked her from going back…and she felt a pull. Something told her to follow them. Yes, she knew there was a chance they might've been involved with Tsuna and the mafia stuff. Actually, she was certain they were. She also knew she might regret this decision in the future (she could get herself killed). She was curious, she had nothing to do, and she couldn't go home. So, she ran and followed the both of them.

As soon as she had arrived at the battle scene, glasses guy had thrown another set of darts at her which she dodged. Gokudera glared at her, "Damn you, girl! Why the hell are you following us?!"

She flushed, "Uh…the exit was blocked with your still-blasting dynamite?" It was more of a question than a statement.

"It can't be blocked now, bitch! Go!"

Her eyebrow twitched. "Excuse me?! Rude! Treat your senpai better than that, dammit! Don't call me a bitch, you asshole!"

"Idiotic bitch!" Gokudera hissed, before turning his attention to the glasses guy. He threw dynamite at him, but glasses guy defused them with his yoyo.

Izumi stared, amazed, "Whoa…cool! How'd you do that?"

She received no reply, and even if there was, she wouldn't have heard it because the glasses guy had already thrown darts at her, making her fall dead.

"Some people should just mind their own businesses," glasses guy muttered, irritated. Gokudera and he resumed their fight, the thought-to-be-dead Izumi long forgotten.

* * *

When Izumi woke up, she was in a white room. There was a female nurse staring at her from the side of her bed.

"Are you okay? Are you feeling fine? Any dizziness, nausea?" she asked.

Izumi shook her head, "No, I'm fine…who brought me here?" The last thing she remembered before everything went dark, was that glasses guy defusing bombs with a yoyo. After she'd complimented that ability, everything had gone dark. She guessed he probably knocked her out or something with those darts.

"Ah, that spiky-haired boy…Sawada-san?"

"Oh, I see. Thanks for taking care of me."

"You're welcome!" the nurse smiled.

The blonde stood up and took her leave from the hospital. She spotted Yuki outside the hospital, talking with a redhead that Izumi didn't recognize. She hid behind a pillar and started eavesdropping on the conversation.

"…ojou-sama, are you really going to go?"

"Of course, I am, it's my duty to protect the residents of Namimori along with Hibari-san!" Yuki replied confidently. Izumi sweat-dropped; Yuki really took her 'duties' seriously, didn't she?

"But…miss, what if you die or get injured? Who will lead the Hana Family then?"

Izumi narrowed her eyes. Hana? Yuki's last name was Hoshino. And…Yuki was a leader of something? Wow.

"Izumi!"

Izumi paled, hearing Yuki's cheerful answer.

"I know Izumi can do it! She's really smart, she can sweet-talk her way out of trouble. She also knows how to land a good punch and kick! You can train her if you're not satisfied."

A bead of sweat ran down Izumi's forehead. What was Yuki talking about? What leader thing? Why was Yuki saying stuff that Yuki knew she would never agree to? Why was Yuki even deciding things for her?

Izumi's eyebrow twitched angrily. She refrained herself from going out there and scolding the hell out of Yuki and continued listening to the conversation in hopes of finding out more about what Yuki was talking about.

"But, mistress! You can't do that! Izumi…she's too innocent for the - !"

"Shush, Akane, I know. I was kidding," Yuki cut in, smirking. "Of course, I wouldn't give the title to Izumi. She'd be a pathetic boss."

Akane sighed with relief, "Thank goodness, mistress. I know it's a little late to say this…but there's someone eavesdropping, and it's Izumi."

Yuki paled, before turning around and spotting the fuming Izumi behind her. "Uh…Izumi…this is nothing…it's a game!"

"A game I can't participate in?"

"Unless you're my servant…Akane, go home!"

"Yes, mistress," the redhead bowed her head submissively, and walked away.

Izumi rolled her eyes, crossing her arms, "Ugh. Are you seriously going to investigate?"

"To catch the culprit too! Hibari-san's in trouble!"

"How'd you recover that fast?" Izumi questioned, ignoring Yuki's answer.

"I'm just a fast healer! Izumi, are you coming or not? Wait – you don't have a choice! You are coming!" Yuki tugged her along.

"Wait! Yuki! Let me go tell Takeru I'm with a friend so he wouldn't worry!"

"Hurry up!"

* * *

 **I'm sorry this took so long. Thank you for all your reviews, favourites and follows! I'm glad and relieved that you liked Izumi, Yuki and Takeru. I'm sorry there are so many OCs, they're all needed for the story to go on. Since Izumi was someone who didn't even know anyone in the mafia, she has a normal life, so there are OCs.**

 **Thanks to RamdomUserHere05, Mewnekoice123, rinningan and ShiKuTama for reviewing! I really enjoyed reading your reviews. Thank you so much!**

 **Anyway! Please review, I'd really appreciate your thoughts on this chapter. What do you think of Yuki wanting to 'investigate' and find the culprit? Who do you think Yuki really is? What do you think of Izumi's decision to let her curiosity overtake her and see the battle? Why didn't Izumi die when Chikusa used his poison darts on her? Oh! And how do _you_ think Takeru knows about the mafia?**

 **Thanks for reading! Please tell me if I got any of my information wrong. I'd really appreciate it! Oh, and I don't own anything except for my OCs.**

 **~ Animeisheaven**


	3. Chapter 3

Izumi pressed on Takeru's contact, before typing a message to him.

'I'm having a sleepover at Yuki's...I'll be back on Sunday.'

She stuffed her phone into her pocket, before staring at Yuki, who was tapping her feet impatiently. "Finally! Let's just go!"

"Stop being so impatient!" Izumi huffed as Yuki dragged to her house.

"You're the one taking so much time, dammit!" the brunette answered, looking back at Izumi.

"You need to chill and stop this investigation right now!"

"No way!"

"Don't drag me into this! I don't wanna deal with the mafia!"

"You're the one who said you wanted an interesting life!"

Izumi grew quiet. She halted suddenly, making Yuki stumble and fall on her knees. "Ouch! What was that for?"

"...that was before," Izumi mumbled.

"Huh? What do you mean - ugh! I hate people who say stuff they don't mean! Forget it! I'll go alone!" Yuki cried, stomping her foot on the concrete.

Izumi felt nauseous. Her heart twisted and she felt like...stopping Yuki. She got this feeling - this horrible, horrible, feeling...that if she let Yuki go now, she'd never see her again; Yuki would leave her for another person and she'd be all alone again. And Izumi knew that feeling...the feeling of loneliness.

Izumi was desperate. She wanted a friend; she didn't want Yuki to leave her all alone. Even though she didn't want to go help her, she still went...all because she didn't want that loneliness. All because she wanted a friend.

"Wait! Yuki!" Izumi yelled. "I'll come! I'm sorry!"

Yuki turned back to her with a bright smile. "Well, what are you waiting for? Come on!"

Izumi followed after Yuki, a relieved smile on her face.

...

"Oi! Takeru! Hurry up and make that ramen!" a burly man wearing an apron yelled.

Takeru nodded, before setting to work. He did the required to make ramen, and poured the noodles into a bowl. He handed it to the waiter nearby, and gave the order's Post It to him.

The waiter nodded, before going out of the room and to the customers.

Takeru's phone buzzed in his pocket, and he glanced at it curiously. He quickly washed his hands in a nearby sink, and took his phone.

'Izumi: I'm having a sleepover at Yuki's...I'll be back on Sunday.'

Takeru gaped, looking at the message. He had a strong feeling about what Izumi was doing there. He sighed, before shrugging and placing his phone back into his pocket.

A waiteress came into the kitchen. "One plate of sushi, table 4!"

He scribbled the order down on a Post It, before getting to work.

He couldn't stop Izumi anyway, and she'd have exciting experiences that she'd tell him after she came back. Besides, she couldn't really die that easily, and she was responsible enough, what was there to lose?

Maybe she'd gain a reverse harem along the way.

...

"Our first step to be prepared is weapons! We need weapons to defeat the culprit!" the brunette yelled.

"Okay, where will we find weapons?" Izumi questioned.

"I have a neverending supply!"

Izumi looked at Yuki, confused. "How?"

"I'm rich, remember? So I have to have bodyguards! It's a must! I must also learn self-defense."

"Oh...what type of weapons do you have?"

Yuki smirked. "Wanna see?"

"O...kay..." Izumi replied unsurely.

"Sweet! Come on!" the brunette chirped, before dragging Izumi out of the room and down a flight of stairs.

Izumi wanted to yell at Yuki, say that she could walk just fine, but she was too scared of Yuki threatening to leave again, so she kept quiet. After all, Izumi didn't want to feel that loneliness again.

Yuki stopped walking suddenly, making Izumi fall on her bottom. "Ow!" she hissed. She stood up, glaring at Yuki who simply smirked at her. "Payback, bitch."

"Don't call me a bitch!" Izumi huffed.

"Yeah, yeah," the brunette ignored her, twisting the knob of the door in front of her. She pushed the door and entered, Izumi following.

"Whoa..." the blonde gasped as she stared. There were weapons of every kind in there - axes, swords, guns, daggers...you name it!

"I know, right?" Yuki smiled smugly. "What do you want? You may take two!"

"Wait...are these even legal?" Izumi furrowed her eyebrows.

"I told you I was rich, so my dad can pull anything off - illegal and legal!" Yuki informed. "Now take your pick. Be sure to take something you can wield, though."

"Yuki...I don't know how to wield any of these things. I don't even know how to fight! I really think that - !"

"Oh, shush, Izumi! Want me to pick out something for you?"

"Okay..."

The brunette skipped somewhere, before coming back with a dagger and a gun.

Izumi twiddled her fingers nervously, staring at the weapons. Yuki handed them to her, and she took both of them gingerly.

"Uh...are you sure it's a good idea giving me a gun?" Izumi questioned. "I might accidentally pull the trigger or shoot you..."

Yuki snickered, "Don't worry, it's not exactly a real gun."

"What...do you mean?"

"Ah, this is called a surprise gun. In every shot, there's a surprise in it that can harm others, but not too badly like what a real bullet can do."

"Oh..." That seemed rather odd to Izumi. She'd never heard of these guns before.

"For example, one of the bullets would be poison for knocking someone out. Like, you shoot it at the target, and the bullet reaches the target, but it doesn't harm them. It just vaporizes and once the person breaths in the air, they'd be out in a second."

Izumi blinked, before smiling softly. "So, it's basically just a distraction?"

"Something like that," Yuki nodded. "I gave you the dagger in case you get into any sticky situations that the gun wouldn't be able to get you out of."

"Oh, I see...so, I don't get to fight much?"

"Yup."

She sighed with relief. "Thank goodness. What are you choosing for your weapons?"

"Hm, twin swords," Yuki replied.

"You know how to wield them?" Izumi gasped.

The brunette's eyebrow twitched angrily, "How many times do I tell you that I'm rich so I must learn to fight?!"

"Oh, sorry..." Izumi sweat-dropped.

They exited the room, and went back to Yuki's room.

"Hey, Yuki, where are your parents?" Izumi questioned.

"Business trip in Italy," Yuki answered, shoulders tensing slightly. "Where are yours this time?"

"They went on some lovey-dovey trip to Italy as well," the blonde laughed. "What a coincidence."

"Yes, what a coincidence indeed. When are they coming back?"

"I think in December or something...I dunno. Then they're staying for a few days, and they'll be off to China. When are your parents coming back?"

"Probably in October."

"Oh."

They reached her room, and stepped inside.

"Now, our next step!"

"Okay, what is it?"

"Food!" Yuki grinned.

"Food?" Izumi repeated unsurely.

"Yep! We might take long to find the culprit, and if we get hungry and we don't have food, what will happen? We'll starve and have no energy to fight and we'll get killed!"

"O...kay?"

"We'll have to take packaged food, like chips and chocolate!"

"And we'll get that in snack stores, won't we?"

"Don't interrupt me!"

"I never - !"

"We get packaged foods in snack stores, so off we go!"

"You just repeated what I said." Izumi sweat dropped.

"Izumi, stop mumbling and let's go!"

Yuki started to run, dragging Izumi again out of the house.

...

"Do we even have a lead to defeat the culprit?" Izumi questioned.

Yuki smirked at her. "Akane's doing some digging. She'll be back soon."

"Oh..."

Suddenly, Yuki's phone rang. She picked it up, placing it to her ear.

"Hello? Oh, Akane."  
"You have a lead already? Whoa!"  
"Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

Izumi stiffened, hearing the familiar name.

"Oh, he's going? He's the Vongola Boss? Never expected that."  
"I should follow him? M'kay. You know where they are?"  
"Great! Thanks, Akane! You're the best!"

Yuki ended the call, and shoved her phone in her pocket before dragging Izumi once again to some place - in front of Tsuna's house.

There was Yamamoto Takeshi, Gokudera Hayato, a pink-haired (or was it red?) lady, Sawada Tsunayoshi, and Reborn.

"Let's go beat Mukuro," Reborn announced.

"So, that's the name of the target," Yuki muttered. She dug into her bag, and passed a jacket to Izumi. "Wear it, it helps you look invisible."

Izumi sweat-dropped. "You sure about that?"

"Of course I am!"

Izumi put it on unsurely, before starting to run after Tsuna and his group with Yuki.

...

Once they'd reached Kokuyo, Izumi was panicking on the inside.

She was nervous, surprised, and scared. Nervous about Tsuna and group finding out about them, surprised that they hadn't found out yet and scared of the culprit that was attacking people.

They'd stopped in front of a gate to a school. Izumi and Yuki were hiding behind a wall, watching them carefully.

"It's creepy," Tsuna commented.

"Is this whole area abandoned?" Gokudera asked.

"This place used to be a compound recreation area called Kokuyo Center," Reborn informed from on top of Yamamoto's shoulder.

"I've come here before!" Tsuna gasped. "That's it, that's it. This place had a karaoke bar, a movie theater and a small exhibit of flora and fauna."

Izumi raised an eyebrow. She was surprised that such an abandoned and run-down place used to be like that.

"If you've been here before, lead the way, Tsuna," Reborn ordered.

"Eh?!" Tsuna panicked. "I've been here before, but it was a long, long, time ago!"

Gokudera went up to the gate, and fingered the chains and locks keeping the gate closed. "The lock is rusted shut. They're not using this gate as an entrance. What should we do?"

The pink-haired lady with goggles had a purple mist covering her hands. "We break through the front, of course."

"Yuki, what's the purple mist?" Izumi murmured.

"Shh," Yuki placed a finger on her lips. "Watch."

"Poison Cooking, Melting Sakura Cake!" the woman yelled, placing her hand on the chains. They eroded away.

"Whoa..." Izumi gasped. "That's so cool!"

"Hey, Bianchi!" Tsuna stammered. "Don't just do that!"

They walked inside, Izumi and Yuki quietly following them.

Yamamoto stopped suddenly, blinking. He kneeled down, and touched the ground. "What is this? Looks like animal footprints."

"Something's coming," Reborn warned.

A boy in a green uniform with claws and blonde hair came out, making creepy noises. He knocked Yamamoto to the ground, and the ground opened up underneath him, revealing a hole. He fell in, the blond animalistic guy going in after him.

Izumi shrieked, scared, "Creepy!"

"Izumi, shut the hell up!" Yuki yelled angrily at her.

"I'm sorry, okay?! That was just...freaky!" the blonde girl snapped.

"I was wondering when you'd come," Reborn smirked.

Yuki pouted. "I wanted to scare you~! Izumi, why'd you have to ruin my fun?"

"Yuki, you know Reborn?!" Izumi gaped.

"Akane-senpai, Hoshino-senpai?" Tsuna yelled, surprised.

"Takeru's sister, Takeru's sister's friend?" Bianchi blinked.

"You know Takeru?" Izumi questioned.

"Poison Scorpion Bianchi...how do you know me?" Yuki asked suspiciously.

"Pervy bitch, nosy bitch?!" Gokudera gaped.

"Don't call me a bitch, you asshole!" Yuki and Izumi shouted angrily.

"Gokudera, show some respect," Bianchi scolded. "That is my rival's sister and her friend right there!"

"What's happening?!" Tsuna and Izumi yelled, confused.

"Concentrate on your friend first!" Yuki told them. "We're here to help, that's all you should know!"

Everyone went over to the hole.

"Yamamoto!" Tsuna yelled. "What was that?"

"It looked like an animalistic human," Yuki replied.

"More importantly, Yamamoto - !" Tsuna cried out worriedly.

"He fell in," Bianchi finished.

"I hope he isn't dead," Izumi murmured.

"Tsuna's memory was accurate," Reborn told them. "The flora and fauna exhibit was buried under the dirt."

"So, we're on top of the roof?!" Tsuna yelled.

Izumi sweated nervously, staring at the black hole. What if she fell in? The distance was really long. She backed away from the hole. "Um...I feel a bit sick...can I stand away?"

"Go ahead, Miss Afraid of Heights," Yuki shrugged.

Izumi flushed in embarrassment. "Shut up!"

"Are you alive, baseball nut?" Gokudera yelled into the hole. Izumi sweat-dropped. Even when in a dangerous situation, he still calls people nicknames.

She backed away a few more steps, ignoring all the chatter. She needed time alone to think of this situation.

But she didn't think, because Tsuna fell inside and she panicked again, going over there.

"Is he okay?!" she asked, looking down in the hole.

"Why did you do that, Reborn-san?!" Gokudera yelled.

"Sawada-san, are you okay?!" Izumi shouted into the hole. She felt someone pinch her hand and she yelped.

"Be quiet and watch," Reborn ordered.

Izumi couldn't exactly see what was happening. It was dark and she had bad eyesight. She just knew that Yamamoto and Tsuna had won, which was good.

She helped to hoist them up, her thoughts of having time alone to think long forgotten.

...

Reborn hadn't expected it. He really hadn't expected it.

He didn't expect Yuki to be the Hana Family's Boss. He wasn't very proud of his own ignorance. What if the Hana Family was planning something against the Vongola? They were really dangerous.

Thankfully, he found out they weren't planning anything nor were they against them. After a chat with Yuki, he'd earned himself an alliance with the Hana Family.

He still didn't expect it, though. But he didn't beat himself up for it - there were other things to fret about. Like the Kokuyo gang.

He planned things out with Yuki, so that meant she and Izumi would be coming along too. So, when Izumi had let out a shriek when Yamamoto had fallen in, he wasn't very surprised.

...

Hey guys! Sorry it's late. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's a bit shorter since I'd gotten no reviews on the last chapter. But, thank you so much for the favourites and follows! It really made me happy!

Please give me feedback! What do you think of Izumi in this chapter? What do you think of Yuki? What do you think of Takeru? How do you think he's related to the mafia?

And remember, the more reviews, the longer the chapter and the faster the updates.

~ Animeisheaven

PS: The format is a bit sloppy since my laptop isn't working and I typed this on the phone. Sorry!.


	4. Chapter 4

"Are you alright?" Tsuna asked Yamamoto.

"I'm alright," Yamamoto replied. He turned his attention to Reborn. "Sorry, kid, I broke your bat."

"Don't worry about it," Reborn answered. He brought out another bat from nowhere. "Here's the spare."

Izumi blinked, "Where'd he get the spare from?"

"Don't question his ways, Izumi," Yuki patted her on the shoulder.

"At this rate, beating Mukuro is going to be a breeze, Tenth!" Gokudera grinned at Tsuna.

"It's not wise to underestimate people," Izumi piped up.

Gokudera shot her a glare. "What would you know?"

"Okay, then, I'm sorry." She shuddered.

"Izumi's right, Gokudera," Reborn told him. "He's gotten through many tough situations by severely beating his enemies." Saying this, he brought out a picture of said-criminal.

Tsuna and Gokudera looked at picture, Yuki and Izumi joining them to look at from behind as well.

Izumi recognized two of them. The glasses-guy, and that blond guy they had just defeated. The guy in the middle...she didn't know him, but he seemed threatening enough.

They continued walking, until Tsuna voiced his wish to take a break. Everyone agreed - Izumi agreed reluctantly, though. They had to hurry and defeat the guy fast, not take breaks!

They also decided to have lunch, and Yamamoto brought out sushi.

"Yamamoto's family sushi!" Tsuna exclaimed happily.

"Here's some Poison Bug Soup, Tsuna," Bianchi held out a cup of fishy looking liquid with purple mist coming out. "It'll warm you right up."

"Whoa," Izumi gasped. "You know how to cook - of course, you know how to cook!" she interrupted herself. "Anyone who's Takeru-nii's friend is always a good cook."

Bianchi smiled at her, "Thank you. Would you like to try some?"

Before Izumi could reply (she would've said yes, even though she was put off by its appearance and the title - but, no way there would be real bugs, right?), Yuki pressed a hand over her mouth and fake-smiled at Bianchi. "She doesn't like soup very much. Especially bug soup."

"Oh, that's a disappointment," Bianchi didn't look too unhappy about it.

Yuki dragged Izumi somewhere else. "Izumi, never have Poison Scorpion Bianchi's food. It will make you cold."

She dragged Izumi back to where they were.

Suddenly, the soup bubbled over, and exploded. Thankfully, Bianchi let go of the container before she could get injured.

"What was that?" Izumi questioned, confused.

The sushi bubbled up too, and exploded as well. Then the bottles exploded too.

Gokudera threw some dynamite at a door, and everyone stared at that area, immediately knowing where the attacker would be.

"What a lame weapon."

The smoke cleared to reveal a pink-haired girl in a green uniform.

"Why did Kaki-pi and Ken have trouble with guys like you?"

"That's a Kokuyo Middle School uniform," Tsuna informed.

"I've never seen such shabby looking mafioso," the girl continued.

Gokudera twitched angrily. "Hey! You're wearing a school uniform, ya know?!"

"I'm not mafioso, though," Izumi piped up, crossing her arms. "Watch what you say."

"Don't call me 'you' like you know me," the girl snapped, walking over to them. "I'm M.M. And I wouldn't dress like this unless Mukuro-chan asked me to.

"Seeing such gloomy-looking men makes me sad...if I had to choose, I'd rather date Mukuro-chan. Men should have money. Anyways...all I have to do is kill all of you, then go on a shopping spree for purses and clothes."

M.M...for some reason, that sounded really funny to Izumi.

"Uh...what does that mean - Miss Money?" Izumi muttered.

Yuki snorted. "I knew I was friends with you for a reason. M.G would've been better. Miss Gold-digger."

M.M blew into a clarinet, and a gust of air came out. A few more bottles exploded, and everyone dived down for cover.

Bianchi faced M.M, glaring.

"Bianchi!" Tsuna and Izumi cried out worriedly.

"You're wrong," Bianchi spoke.

"Hah?"

"What's important isn't money. It's love."

"What's with you? You're pissing me off."

"That weapon works as a microwave. It vibrates molecules using sound waves and raises its temperature."

"You're right, so what? The sound waves from this clarinet vibrate atoms five hundred million times per minute. The more the molecules vibrate, the more the temperature rises. Meaning, if a human were hit by these waves, the water molecules inside them would boil and - boom!" M.M burst out laughing.

Izumi squeaked, frightened. "Thanks for the science lesson, but if I'm going to die, I don't want such a painful death!"

"Come on, Izumi, don't be such a scaredy cat," Yuki scoffed.

"You're supposed to be scared in this situation!"

"Don't you trust Poison-Scorpion Bianchi?"

"Enough talk," Bianchi snapped.

"Bring it on! I'll microwave your brains out!" M.M yelled, a wide grin on her face.

Bianchi took out two plates of fishy looking food, "Poison Cooking: Large Scale Buffet!"

"What a lame attack." M.M brought her clarinet to her lips, and blew. "Burning Vibrato!"

The plates of food burst into purple blobs. Bianchi ran to M.M, food in hand. She threw it at M.M, making her dodge. Then she took out a purple cake, aiming it at M.M. The short-haired girl let out a shrill scream, until her clarinet broke apart and turned into a weapon with chains. "Did you really think I'd scream?"

Bianchi's eyes widened, and she jumped back.

"I'm good at close-range combat too!"

With a lash of her weapon, Bianchi was sent back flying, until she landed on the ground.

"Oh, no, Bianchi-san!" Izumi cried, worried.

M.M laughed. "Who cares about love? There's nothing greater than money!"

Bianchi stood up, glaring at M.M.

"Now then, this'll be the final blow!" M.M grinned, bringing the clarinet to her lips. Then the clarinet turned to purple goo, and M.M screeched out loud, disgusted and afraid.

Izumi snickered as she watched M.M fall to the ground. "Is it mean to say I don't feel bad for her?"

"Not really," Yuki shrugged. "The bitch had it coming."

"She did have a point though - more money is technically everything."

"Poison-Scorpion Bianchi won't be very pleased to hear you say that, you know?"

"Yes, I know. She may not believe that, but I do."

"Whatever."

"Shouldn't we get going now?" Izumi blinked.

"You're in a hurry," Yamamoto remarked.

Izumi laughed nervously. "Ah...the sooner we take him out, the better/safer?"

"Scaredy cat," Yuki teased. Izumi scowled at the brunette, annoyed. "Shut up!"

Creepy giggling began to echo through the grounds. Izumi shivered. "That's creepy...anyone hear that?"

"I am quite glad that avaricious girl M.M has been beaten," an old man with yellow birds appeared suddenly.

"What's avaricious?" Izumi whispered to Yuki.

Yuki shrugged. "No idea."

"Who are you?!" Tsuna stammered, scared.

"Now, calm down and look at this," the bird-man replied, taking out a remote and pressing a button.

Two screens appeared, one showing a girl with chocolate brown hair and big eyes, and the other one showing two girls walking and talking together.

"Your friends are being targeted," the bird-man stated.

"These are...Tsuna's friends?" Izumi murmured.

"Kyoko-chan!" Tsuna gasped. "Haru!"

"Who the hell are you?! What are you planning?!" Gokudera snapped.

"My name is Birds," bird-man replied. "The images you see here are being transmitted by the small cameras attached to my dear little birdies."

"What a fitting and unfitting name for him," Izumi sighed. "And...who the hell names their kid 'birds'?"

The honey-brown-haired girl in the image sat down on a bench somewhere and began talking to her friend beside her. Suddenly, a humanoid creature in the green uniform every enemy seemed to be wearing appeared out from a bush behind them.

The girl in the other image was walking and reading a book. Another humanoid creature in the green uniform came out from behind a pole.

Everyone gasped.

"So you noticed them," Birds stated.

"Anyone would notice them," Izumi muttered.

"They are twin hitmen, loyal to me," Birds explained. "The Bloody Twins. They look adorable, but they were such ferocious serial killers that while in prison, they were not let out of solitary confinement even once."

"You think they look adorable?!" Izumi gaped, giving a disgusted look to Birds. "More like ugly!"

"Izumi, don't talk," Yuki glared at the blonde. "You'll just tick them off."

Izumi got a bit angry, but she didn't want Yuki to stop being her friend. That, and Yuki was right...all the comments she had made so far were only insults. Sigh...she was basically useless. Why did Yuki even bring her along?

Suddenly, the humanoid twins' claws had sharpened and increased in length, and were about to attack the girls.

"Watch out!" Tsuna cried worriedly.

"What do you intend to do?" Bianchi questioned.

"Nothing, as long as you obey me," Birds answered.

"Not happening," Izumi gritted her teeth.

Gokudera held the man by the collar, yelling angrily, "Stop this! They're not involved in this!"

"Now, now. You'd best not touch me," Birds warned, smirking creepily. "I won't be responsible for what happens to your friends. I can still give them commands."

Izumi's gaze then went to the remote, upon hearing his last sentence. The wheels in her head turned, and she looked at Yuki. "We have to take that remote from him. I'm guessing that's probably what he uses to give them commands."

"That could be a possibility," Yuki agreed. "We can't risk it, though. Should we just...test it out? We'll wait and see."

Izumi didn't agree with that, but Yuki was more experienced at this thing, so she didn't question it.

"I want all of you to beat up Vongola the 10th," Birds ordered.

Tsuna gasped in fear. Izumi's eyes widened.

"What was that?!" Gokudera yelled angrily.

"Gokudera..." Yamamoto shot him a look.

"I said, punch that Sawada-kun right there!" Birds snapped angrily. "You want all of them to go home safely, right? Then, hit him!"

"That kind of one-sided demand is underhanded!" Gokudera shouted.

"Don't be unreasonable!" Yamamoto continued.

Birds only laughed in that creepy annoying manner of his.

"Even if you refuse, it's no skin off my nose," he continued. "Very well, do it."

The creatures reached to attack the girls, and everyone let out a panicked gasp.

Birds laughed. "My other hobby is startling others. Seeing others' unguarded, sad little faces excites me so!"

"That bastard..." Gokudera muttered.

"He's a complete pervert," Bianchi remarked.

Izumi glared at Birds with disgust, "What a creep..."

"Izumi, shut up," Yuki hissed. "You'll only anger him."

"Are you certain you should talk about me in such a fashion?" Birds questioned, smirking. "If you don't do what I say this time..."

"Alright! Yamamoto! Gokudera! Hit me!" Tsuna cried out.

"Tsuna!" Yamamoto looked at him.

"Tenth!" Gokudera looked at him as well. Tsuna looked really annoyed. He had a slightly frightened expression, which made it easier for Izumi to understand his thoughts. If this wasn't a dangerous situation, she would've laughed. Now, she only felt sorry for the poor guy.

"Tch, it was about to get good," Birds murmured angrily. "Start before I finish counting to five."

Izumi's eyebrow twitched. That asshole! He was enjoying this!

"Um...well..." Tsuna stammered.

"One."

"Yamamoto! Gokudera! Beat me up!"

"Two."

"Don't be stupid!" Yamamoto scolded.

"We can't do that!" Gokudera continued.

"Three."

"But! If you don't, the two of them will be..." Tsuna yelled.

"Four...five!"

Just as Birds said the last number, Bianchi punched Tsuna on the face and the boy fell on the ground.

Izumi immediately went to the boy's side, worried.

"Sis! What did you do that for?!" Gokudera shouted.

"I originally came to Japan to take care of Tsuna so I could return to Italy with Reborn," she informed. "Consider yourself fortunate since that's all you got."

"Indeed," Tsuna sighed. He rubbed his cheek, blinking.

"Well done, you've cleared my condition," Birds stated. "Then I'm sure you can clear the next one."

"What?! There's more?" Tsuna and Izumi chorused.

"No one said there would be only one," Birds shrugged.

"He has a point there," Yuki remarked.

"Son of a bitch!" Gokudera cursed. "You're taking it too far!"

Birds ignored him, laughing. "You cleared the last one so well. I'll make the next one final." He tapped the wooden stick he was holding on the ground. The wood gave way, revealing a sharp sword. His glasses shone. "Stab the Tenth with this." He held the sword up, and the sword crackled with lightening.

"What?!" Tsuna shrieked.

Izumi's eyes widened. That was too much! Tsuna would die immediately!

Everyone gasped.

"Your startled faces just now were exquisite!" Birds grinned. "Now, do it!"

"That's crazy!" Tsuna gaped.

"Screw you, you pervert!" Gokudera snapped.

"That's unreasonable!" Yamamoto glared at him.

"I refuse!" Bianchi stated.

"No way!" Izumi crossed her arms.

"Sorry, I can't do that," Yuki muttered.

"I've already told you many times. I don't mind at all if you refuse," Birds smirked. He turned to the screen. "Let's start with this girl." He pointed to the girl talking with her friend.

"Kyoko-chan!" Tsuna cried.

"She's like an adorable little angel," Birds grinned.

The creature moved to attack Kyoko, but Tsuna yelled for it to stop.

"Do it. Stab the Tenth. You have ten seconds."

Everyone glared hatefully at Birds.

"I'll do it," Bianchi said. "I'll call an ambulance immediately after."

"No, I'll do it," Tsuna protested.

"Please reconsider, Tenth!" Gokudera pleaded.

He was about to stab himself, when the creature let out a cry of pain.

"Any enemies of women are my enemies too," a man in a doctor's suit appeared suddenly in front of Kyoko.

The creature lay on the ground, groaning in pain.

"Doctor Shamal?!" Tsuna shrieked.

"Who's that?" Izumi blinked.

"I think he's Trident Shamal or something..." Yuki muttered.

"What?!" Birds yelled. He regained composure after a few seconds, holding up a hand. "Now, now. Have you forgotten I have one more? If you don't want her to die, continue stabbing yourself. Come on now, Vongola the Tenth."

"What a jerk!" Izumi hissed.

"Ha!" a girl came and punched the creature attacking the other girl. Izumi furrowed her eyebrows. "She looks a bit familiar..."

"Well, well. Haru-san, you're alright now," a curly-haired boy told her, coming out of nowhere.

"He looks familiar too..." Izumi huffed.

"I-Pin! Lambo!" Tsuna cried.

The blonde's eyes widened. "No way...I thought they were kids!"

"You know them, Izumi?" Yuki questioned.

Izumi fake-smiled. "N-No, not really..." She couldn't let Yuki know her secret...it would be an instant break-up and she'd be all lonely again!

Everyone started to attack Birds as revenge for all he made them do. Izumi just stayed on the sidelines, preferring to watch the screens. I-Pin had defeated that creature easily, with a series of martial art moves. Izumi was...impressed. And confused. Why were they adults? Were they adults but in the disguise of kids like she was? Or was it some trick?

"That's the Ten-Year Bazooka," Reborn informed. She blinked. "Oh...so, this is their ten-years-later form?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"Oh."

"Anyways, who are these guys?" Tsuna asked Reborn.

"They broke out of prison with Mukuro," Reborn replied.

"Wait! You mean there were three other escapees with Mukuro?!" Tsuna yelled.

"According to Dino, the prison break was caused by Mukuro and his close friends along with M.M, Birds and the Twins. Seven people. We knew about the others, but we didn't imagine they would have met up."

"'didn't imagine'?!"

Reborn pouted. "But Dino said these guys didn't matter."

"Don't change your personality to get out of this!"

Izumi snickered at their exchange. "Poor Sawada-san."

"But...there are more, aren't there?" Tsuna asked unsurely.

"Yes, there are," Bianchi confirmed. She was looking somewhere in the bushes. "Stop hiding and come out!"

Someone stepped out of the bushes. "Wait...it's me."

Everyone gasped.

"Oh, it's the floaty boy!" Izumi exclaimed. "The one with the rankings and stuff."

"Fuuta!" Tsuna sighed.

"Here?" Gokudera blinked.

"Did he run away from them?" Yamamoto questioned.

"In any case, I'm glad," Tsuna smiled. "Everyone's here, so don't worry. Let's go home together!"

"Stay away, Tsuna-nii," Fuuta told him. "I...can't go back with you guys..."

"W-What are you saying?"

"I'm sticking with Mukuro-san. Goodbye!" the boy took off, running into the forest.

"Fuuta! Wait!" Tsuna ran after him.

"Izumi...go after him," Yuki ordered. The girl blinked. "Okay..." She ran after them into the forest, a bit confused.

"Why did Yuki send me after them?"

Another chapter done! How was it? Your thoughts? Please review!

Anyways, I just had a question...

Who would you like to pair with Izumi? Please say that in the reviews!

~ Animeisheaven


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